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'''Straumfjörð''' ([[Old Norse language|Old Norse]]<ref>http://www.heimskringla.no/wiki/Eir%C3%ADks_saga_rau%C3%B0a</ref> and [[Icelandic language|Icelandic]]),<ref>http://www.snerpa.is/net/isl/eirik.htm</ref> sometimes anglisised to '''Straumsfjordr''',<ref>http://sagadb.org/eiriks_saga_rauda.en</ref> '''Straumfjordr''', '''Straumsfjord''' or '''Straumfjord''', is according to the [[Sagas of Icelanders]] a [[fjord]] in [[Vinland]] where [[Þorfinnr "Karlsefni" Þórðarson]] set up a temporary settlement. It is described in the ''[[Saga of Erik the Red]]'', but not in the ''[[Greenland saga]]''. Its name translates to "Current-fjord", "Stream-fjord" or "Tide-fjord".<ref>http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/straumr#Old_Norse</ref> |
'''Straumfjörð''' ([[Old Norse language|Old Norse]]<ref>http://www.heimskringla.no/wiki/Eir%C3%ADks_saga_rau%C3%B0a</ref> and [[Icelandic language|Icelandic]]),<ref>http://www.snerpa.is/net/isl/eirik.htm</ref> sometimes anglisised to '''Straumsfjordr''',<ref>http://sagadb.org/eiriks_saga_rauda.en</ref> '''Straumfjordr''', '''Straumsfjord''' or '''Straumfjord''', is according to the [[Sagas of Icelanders]] a [[fjord]] in [[Vinland]] where [[Þorfinnr "Karlsefni" Þórðarson]] set up a temporary settlement. It is described in the ''[[Saga of Erik the Red]]'', but not in the ''[[Greenland saga]]''. Its name translates to "Current-fjord", "Stream-fjord" or "Tide-fjord".<ref>http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/straumr#Old_Norse</ref> |
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Two somewhat different versions of the travels of Karlsefni appear in the sagas; they are found in the ''[[Hauksbók]]'' and the ''[[Flateyjarbók]]''.<ref>The Vinland Problem through Four Centuries |
Two somewhat different versions of the travels of Karlsefni appear in the sagas; they are found in the ''[[Hauksbók]]'' and the ''[[Flateyjarbók]]''.<ref>The Vinland Problem through Four Centuries |
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William Stetson Merrill |
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The Catholic Historical Review |
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Vol. 21, No. 1 (Apr., 1935), pp. 21-48 |
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Published by: Catholic University of America Press |
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Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25013345</ref> They tell that ''Straumsey'' (Current-isle) lies at the mouth of Straumfjörð; this is an island with an extreme density of [[bird]]s. |
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The whereabouts of Straumfjörð has been, and is, subject to intense speculation. |
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== Location == |
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[[Image:L'Anse aux Meadows, recreated long house.jpg|thumb|300px|right|L'Anse aux Meadows, generally considered to be located somewhere to the north of Straumfjörð]] |
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[[Image:Viking landing.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Reconstruction of the voyage in 2000, with replica [[Viking ship|Norse ships]]]] |
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The exact location of Straumfjörð is disputed. The only [[Norsemen|Norse]] settlement which has been recovered in [[North America]] beyond [[Greenland]] is located on [[L'Anse aux Meadows]]. |
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According to the Saga of Erik the Red the location is significantly south of [[Markland]]. |
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=== Directions === |
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Based on Septhon's 1880 translation<ref>http://www.gutenberg.org/files/17946/17946-h/17946-h.htm#chap_4</ref> - ''notice that this is claimed to be a mix between the ''Hauksbók'' and ''Flateyjarbók'' versions.''<ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saga_of_Erik_the_Red</ref> |
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[[Þorfinnr "Karlsefni" Þórðarson]], trying to find a country seen by [[Bjarni Herjólfsson]] and visited by [[Leif Ericson]], sails from [[Brattahlíð]], [[Eastern Settlement]] to ''Vestribygd'' (probably the [[Western Settlement]]), both in [[Greenland]]. From here, they move on to "''Bjarneyjar''" (Bear Islands, possibly [[Disko Island]]<ref>http://diskobayarcticstation.wordpress.com/2012/01/27/the-old-viking-name-of-disko-island-is-indeed-bear-island-bjorn-oya/</ref>). After two half-days or days of sail with northerly wind they arrive at [[Helluland]] (Country of Flat Stones). After another two half-days or days of sail with northerly winds, they arrive at [[Markland]] (Forest Country). |
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Off Markland to the South-East is and island that Karlsefni and his company called Bear Island. From Markland, after yet another two half-days or days of sail, they encounter a headland. This headland is possibly identical with ''Kjalarnes''. Keeping the coast on their [[starboard]] side, they journey along ''[[Wonderstrands|Furdustrandir]]'' ("Wonder-strands"). Then, the coast becomes indented with [[creek (tidal)|creek]]s. They find grapes and wild wheat, and continue until the shore is cut into by a [[fjord]] with an island, ''Straumsey'' (Current-isle) at its mouth; this is ''Straumsfjord''. |
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To the south of Straumsfjord is ''Hóp'', where no snow falls during winter, and on the west side of ''Kjalarnes'' is a wilderness, and a river which flows from east to west. East of ''Kjalarnes'' is the "[[Ireland|Irish]] Ocean". Straumsfjord is estimated by Karlsefni to be equidistant from Hóp and a location north of the river that runs westwards. He also regards Hóp and this location by the river to share the same mountain [or mountain range]. |
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The "two half-days or days" [two ''doegr'', which could refer to 12 or 24 hours], referenced three times in the saga, are important to the question of the whereabouts of Straumsfjord because they suggest the distance travelled when Karlsefni and his men, perhaps, crossed open seas. The two ''doegr'' were suggested by [[Carl Christian Rafn]] in 1841<ref>ANNALER FOR NORDISK OLDKYNDIGHED. 1840-1841. KONGELIGE NORDISKE OLDSKRIFTSELSKAB. Kjøbenhavn. Pages 15ff. Available through [[Google Books]].</ref> to be equivalent to about 54 to 60 ''miil''. He bases this on old Icelandic sources such as the ''[[Landnámabók]]''. ''Miil'' would refer to either ''[[::nn::sjømil|sjømil]]'' or to [[Scandinavian mile]]. William A. Munn (1929) assumes the two days to correspond to ''"about 200 miles"''.<ref>W. A. Munn, "Wineland Voyages: Location of Helluland, Markland & Vinland" (St John's, NL: Dicks and Company Limited, June 31, 1992), 13.</ref> [[Jónas Kristjánsson]] and colleagues, in a 2012 article, suggest that ''170 [[nautical mile]]s'', which is the distance between Greenland and Baffin Island, or an even longer distance, could well be transversed over two ''doegr'', as modern replicas of [[Viking ship|Norse ships]] have been reported to make 12 [[knot (unit)|knot]]s and more under favourable conditions.<ref>Acta Archaeologica vol. 83, 2012, pp 145-177</ref> [[Geoffrey Malcolm Gathorne-Hardy]] and [[William Hovgaard]] estimated a day of 24 hours' sail at about 150 miles.<ref>http://www.jstor.org/stable/25013345</ref> |
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=== Saga of Erik the Red === |
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According to the Saga of Erik the Red, Straumfjörð is located beyond the [[Wonderstrands]] (''Furðustrandir''). It describes the area thusly, according to the "fusioned" 1880 translation by J. Sephton:<ref>http://sagadb.org/eiriks_saga_rauda.en</ref> |
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{{quote|Now, when they had sailed by Furdustrandir, they put the [[Scottish people|Scotch people]] on land, and requested them to run into the southern regions, seek for choice land, and come back after three half-days were passed. (...) Then did they cast anchors from the ships, and lay there to wait for them. And when three days were expired the Scotch people leapt down from the land, and one of them had in his hand a bunch of [[grape]]s, and the other an ear of wild [[wheat]]. |
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They said to [[Þorfinnr "Karlsefni" Þórðarson|Karlsefni]] that they considered they had found good and choice land. Then they received them into their ship, and proceeded on their journey to where the shore was cut into by a [[firth]]. They directed the ships within the firth. There was an island lying out in front of the firth, and there were great currents around the island, which they called Straums-ey (Stream-island). There were so many birds ''[another translation refers to [[Common Eider|eider-duck]] rather than birds in general]<ref>http://www.archive.org/stream/voyagestovinland013593mbp/voyagestovinland013593mbp_djvu.txt</ref>'' on it that scarcely was it possible to put one's feet down for the eggs. They continued their course up the firth, which they called Straumsfjordr, and carried their cargo ashore from the ships, and there they prepared to stay. They had with them cattle of all kinds, and for themselves they sought out the produce of the land thereabout. There were mountains, and the place was fair to look upon. |
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They gave no heed to anything except to explore the land, and they found large pastures. They remained there during the winter, which happened to be a hard one, with no work doing; and they were badly off for food, and the fishing failed. Then they went out to the island, hoping that something might be got there from fishing or from what was drifted ashore. In that spot there was little, however, to be got for food, but their cattle found good sustenance.}} |
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Later, after giving up settling farther south due to the presence of hostile [[Skrælings]], Karlsefni and his men again reach Straumsfjord when retreating northwards: |
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{{quote|Afterwards they came to a headland and a multitude of wild animals; and this headland appeared as if it might be a cake of cow-dung, because the animals passed the winter there. Now they came to Straumsfjordr, where also they had abundance of all kinds.<ref>http://sagadb.org/eiriks_saga_rauda.en</ref>}} |
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== Hallmarks == |
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If the saga's accounts and the translation are accurate, within Straumsfjord, there are mountains, the place was fair to look upon, with large pastures, a harsh winter, and hunting opportunities. A [[crag]] or crags are found within some distance. An unknown species of [[whale]] shored; it was inedible. On ''Straumsey'', there are so many birds that it is difficult not to step on eggs, it also has poor fishery, but gave good sustenance for their [[cattle]]. Fishery failed, but later recovered. |
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=== Currents === |
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A defining feature of Straumsfjord and Straumsey must have been high tides or strong currents. The settlement which was established farther south, ''Hóp'' may also have been connected to strong currents or tides, as it has been translated into "tidal pool" or "tidal lake". According to a 2008 article by Thomas Hayne in the journal ''Weather'', this may give some clues as to the whereabouts of the fjord:<ref>Thomas Hayne, What did the Viking discoverers of America know of the North Atlantic Environment? Weather, Volume 63, Issue 3, pages 60–65, March 2008. DOI: 10.1002/wea.150 Available from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wea.150/abstract</ref> |
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{{quote|It is possible that Straumfjord coincides with the [[Leifsbudir]] settlement described in the Greenlander’s Saga, that is, the settlement at [[L’Anse aux Meadows]]. But, interestingly, the tidal range along the [[Great Northern Peninsula|northern Newfoundland peninsula]], near L’Anse aux Meadows, is only around 1m and hardly worthy of special mention in the Sagas. The non-tidal flow through the [[Strait of Belle Isle]], which separates the northern Newfoundland peninsula from Labrador, is also weak (about 6–34cm/s according to Garrett and Petrie (1981), (their Figure 15)). Remarkably large tidal ranges do exist along the [[Atlantic Canada|Canadian Atlantic coast]]. In particular, the two greatest [[tidal range]]s in the world are at [[Ungava Bay]] and the [[Bay of Fundy]] where the ranges often exceed 10m and the associated currents would easily overwhelm a [[Viking ship]]. Some uncertainty therefore still exists about the true locations of Hop, Straumsey and Straumfjord.}} |
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=== Climate === |
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Theories on where Straumsfjord and the other places described in the saga were are to a large extent based on the saga's descriptions of [[flora]] and [[fauna]]. The [[Atlantic Ocean|Northern Atlantic]] has since the saga was written, however, been through periods of regional [[climate change]] and, more recently, [[global warming]]. This adds an extra layer of uncertainty to every climate-dependent observation. |
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=== Seamanship === |
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Common sense [[seamanship]] implies to avoid open and treacherous seas unless they are unavoidable. Moreover, appropriate [[natural harbour]]s would be required for the ships. This provides possible constraints to the routes taken. |
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== Suggested locations == |
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[[North America hybrid map.png|thumb|right|300px|If no, this is [[North America]]. Where did they go?]] |
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[[Image:Baffin Island.jpg|thumb|right|300px|The southern tip of [[Baffin Island]], which may have had a warmer climate at the time of the sagas. Nevertheless, is generally agreed that if the sagas are trustworthy, Karlsefni made it past this point.]] |
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[[Image:Sobi.jpg|thumb|right|300px|View across the [[Strait of Belle Isle]], from Newfoundland towards Labrador. Is the photographer standing near ''Kjalarnes'' as suggested by [[Jónas Kristjánsson]], or did Karlsefni ignore Newfoundland, instead being ''en route'' for Nova Scotia or the lands closer to [[St. Lawrence River]]?]] |
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[[Image:ChaleurBay23.jpg|thumb|right|300px|[[Chaleur Bay]]. Was ''Kjalarnes'' on [[Gaspé Peninsula]]?]] |
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[[Image:Saint Lawrence River in winter.JPG|thumb|right|300px|The sagas suggest that native Icelanders and Greenlanders regarded the winter at Straumsfjord as particularly cold. [[Saint Lawrence River]] has cold winters.]] |
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[[Image:Cape Breton 08.jpg|thumb|right|300px|[[Cape Breton Island|Cape Breton]], [[Nova Scotia]]. Is this ''Kjalarnes''?]] |
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[[Image:BayofFundy.JPG|thumb|right|300px|[[Minas Basin]], [[Bay of Fundy]], [[Nova Scotia]], which is claimed to have the highest tides in the world]] |
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[[Image:Rockefeller Center view 3056953388 4512c89d0a.jpg|thumb|right|300px|''Straumsey'' today - according to some sources]] |
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As the coastline of North America is vast and descriptions of the size of the fjord and island are lacking, they can in principle be located at a large number of locations. |
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The following suggestions for the location of Straumfjörð are gathered from both scholarly and popular literature. They are sorted by increasing distance from the [[Western Settlement]], [[Greenland]]: they make increasingly optimistic estimates for the distance travelled by Karlsefni and his company. Evidently, the headland, promontory or cape ''Kjalarnes'' is difficult to identify; for seafarers the keel placed there would make its identification obvious, but it is now lost, and [[Wonderstrands|Furdustrandir]] and Straumsfjord lay beyond this point. As will be shown in the following, ''Kjalarnes'' is sometimes, but not always, identified as [[L'Anse aux Meadows]], [[Gaspé Peninsula]], [[Cape North (Nova Scotia)|Cape North]]/[[Cape Breton (Nova Scotia)|Cape Breton]] and [[Cape Cod]]. Many, but not all, of the following suggestions can be placed some distance beyond these points, within four coastal regions: [[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]]; [[Chaleur Bay]]; [[Nova Scotia]]/[[Maine]]; between [[Cape Cod]] and [[New York]]. |
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As will become obvious, highly skilled individuals feature prominently among those who have contributed to the suggestions. Please notice that it is impossible to give proper justice to each theory within the scope of this article. |
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=== "The author's invention" === |
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[[Helge Ingstad]] and [[Anne Stine Ingstad]] (the couple who found [[L'Anse aux Meadows]]), in ''The Viking Discovery of America'',<ref>1991/2000, Breakwater Books Ltd.</ref> take a sceptical approach. They argue that, {{quote|Altogether Eirik's Saga's description of the ostensible headquarters at Straumsfjord includes a number of salient points which are improbable, and several of these would seem to show that the author made use of the [[Greenland Saga|Groenlendinga Saga]]. This fact adds weight to my previous argumentation showing that Karlsefni's headquarters at Straumsfjord is the author's invention, a substitute for Groenlendinga Saga's [[Leifsbudir]] in Vinland.}} |
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The similarities are also described by Mats G. Larsson.<ref>http://vittfarne.com/joomla/content/view/168/73/lang,se/</ref> However, according to a 2012 article in ''Acta Archeologica'', it is "now generally accepted" that the two sagas were written independently.<ref>Acta Archaeologica, Volume 83, Issue 1, pages 148–153, December 2012. DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0390.2012.00627.x</ref> |
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The famous explorer [[Fridtjof Nansen]], in his ''I tåkeheimen'' (''In Northern Mists''),<ref>http://www.archive.org/stream/innorthernmistsa01nansuoft/innorthernmistsa01nansuoft_djvu.txt</ref> written before the discovery of [[L'Anse aux Meadows]], conjectures that the Saga of Erik the Red was inspired by tales about the [[Fortunate Isles]] and, although admitting that it is indeed possible that the Norse reached America, considers the saga to not be trustworthy. Julius E. Olson of the [[University of Wisconsin–Madison|University of Wisconsin]] strongly attacked this stance in a 1911 article (see also below), saying "If there isn't a substantial background of history to the Saga of Eric the Red, it is the most clever piece of literary deception over [''[[sic]]''] practiced in the name of history".<ref>Julius E. Olson |
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Publications of the Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study , Vol. 1, No. 4 (November, 1913), pp. 147-156 |
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Published by: Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study |
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Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40914910</ref><ref>The Vinland Problem through Four Centuries |
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William Stetson Merrill |
William Stetson Merrill |
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The Catholic Historical Review |
The Catholic Historical Review |
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Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25013345</ref> |
Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25013345</ref> |
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=== Ungava Bay === |
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The whereabouts of Straumfjörð has been, and is, subject to speculation. |
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As mentioned in the above, a 2008 article<ref>Thomas Hayne, What did the Viking discoverers of America know of the North Atlantic Environment? Weather, Volume 63, Issue 3, pages 60–65, March 2008. DOI: 10.1002/wea.150 Available from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wea.150/abstract</ref> connects the extreme tides of [[Ungava Bay]] to the alleged currents or tides at Straumsfjord and Hóp, without drawing any conclusions. |
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=== Sandwich Bay === |
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==References== |
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[[William Hovgaard]], a famous expert of naval design and author of ''The Voyages of the Norsemen to America'' (1914) takes into account the tales in the [[Greenland Saga]]. According to [[William Stetson Merrill]], Hovgaard places Karlsefni's first winter at [[Sandwich Bay (Newfoundland and Labrador)|Sandwich Bay]], [[Labrador]]. It is not made explicit whether this refers to Straumsfjord.<ref>http://www.jstor.org/stable/25013345</ref> |
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=== Strait of Belle Isle === |
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Paul Chapman, author and former navigator, suggests that Straumsey is [[Belle Isle (Newfoundland and Labrador)|Belle Isle]] and that Straumsfjord refers to a settlement on the [[Strait of Belle Isle]].<ref>http://www.ensignmessage.com/archives/vikings.html</ref> |
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=== L'Anse aux Meadows === |
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Birgitta Linderoth Wallace, author of ''Westward Vikings: The Saga of L'anse Aux Meadows '', in the book chapter ''L’Anse aux Meadows and Vinland: An Abandoned Experiment'' in the book ''Contact, Continuity, and Collapse'', places the settlement at Straumfjörð at L'Anse aux Meadows.<ref>Wallace, B. L., L’Anse aux Meadows and Vinland: An Abandoned Experiment. In: L’Anse aux Meadows and Vinland: An Abandoned Experiment. James H. Barrett (ed.) Turnhout Brepols Publishers. 2003. ISBN 978-2-503-51291-4 (Print) 978-2-503-52641-6 (Online) Pages 207-238 DOI 10.1484/M.SEM-EB.3.3837</ref> |
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=== Sop's Arm === |
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A 2012 article by [[Jónas Kristjánsson]] et al. in the scientific journal ''Acta Archeologica'', which assumes that the headland of ''Kjalarnes'' referred to in the saga is at [[L'Anse aux Meadows]], suggests that Straumsfjord refers to [[Sop's Arm, Newfoundland and Labrador|Sop's Arm, Newfoundland]], as no other fjord in Newfoundland was found to have an island at its mouth, and as [[pitfall trap]]s of possible Norse origin were found at this location.<ref>Jónas Kristjánsson et al. (2012) Falling into Vínland. ''Acta Archeologica'' 83, pp. 145-177</ref> |
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=== St. Lawrence === |
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In an 1831 letter sent from [[Copenhagen]] to the [[Massachusetts Historical Society]], published in the 1880 ''Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society'',<ref>http://www.jstor.org/stable/25079562</ref> [[Rasmus Christian Rask]] gives a thorough account of the sagas and states, |
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{{quote|Straumsfjörðr, I fancy, is the Bay of Saint Lawrence}} |
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This would refer, it would seem, either to the [[Gulf of Saint Lawrence]] or to lower [[Saint Lawrence River]], depending on naming conventions in use at the time. He refuses to propose a theory of the whereabouts of ''Straumsey'', claiming it "impossible", but hopes for future saga translations to illuminate the issue. |
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[[::dk::Hans Peder Steensby|H. P. Steensby]] held that ''"The coast lines were guides for the ancient Norsemen and they must also be ours"''. According to Merrill,<ref>William Stetson Merrill |
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The Catholic Historical Review |
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Vol. 21, No. 1 (Apr., 1935), pp. 21-48 |
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Published by: Catholic University of America Press |
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Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25013345</ref> Steensby's opinion was that |
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{{quote|Streamfjord was the [[estuary]] of St. Lawrence River between the mouth of the [[Saguenay River|Saguenay]], with its Green Isle opposite, and the narrow waters about the present [[Île d'Orléans|Isle d'Orleans]].}} |
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=== Baie des Sept-Îles === |
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''[[J.W. Cappelens Forlag|Cappelen]]'s History of Norway'' (1976) suggests a location at Baie des [[Sept-Îles, Quebec]].<ref>''[[Cappelens Norgeshistorie]]'' bd. 2, s. 141. 1976.</ref> |
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=== Chaleur Bay === |
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An early 1920s book review by [[Sigfús Blöndal]] in [[Historisk Tidsskrift (Denmark)]],<ref>Historisk Tidsskrift, Bind 9. række, 7 (1919 - 1925) 1</ref><ref>http://www.tidsskrift.dk/index.php/historisktidsskrift/article/view/36311/69822</ref> referring to scholarly consensus of the past decades and to the authority of [[Gustav Storm]] and H. P. Steensby,<ref>H. P. Steensby's "Norsemen's Route from Greenland to Wineland"</ref> places Straumsfjord at [[Chaleur Bay]], which separates [[Gaspé Peninsula]] from [[New Brunswick]]. |
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The book reviewed by Blöndal is G. M. Gathorne-Hardy's ''The Norse Discoverers of America'', which comes to another conclusion, see below. |
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Halldór Hermansson, a [[Cornell University]] professor, also placed Straumfjord in Chaleur Bay, "where the tide rises from five to ten feet". Matthias Thordarsson, who authored ''The Vinland Voyages'' (1930), agreed with his views.<ref>http://www.jstor.org/stable/25013345</ref> |
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=== Mira Bay === |
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Juul Dieserud, the author of ''Norse Discoveries in America'' (1901) placed Straumsfjord at [[Mira River (Nova Scotia)|Mira Bay]], [[Nova Scotia]].<ref>The Vinland Problem through Four Centuries |
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William Stetson Merrill |
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The Catholic Historical Review |
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Vol. 21, No. 1 (Apr., 1935), pp. 21-48 |
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Published by: Catholic University of America Press |
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Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25013345</ref> |
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=== Strait of Canso === |
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Geraldine Barnes, in a 1995 article in the journal ''Parergon'', connects Straumsfjord to the [[Strait of Canso]] between [[Cape Breton Island]] and mainland [[Nova Scotia]], due to its high tides and the birdlife at nearby [[Isle Madame, Nova Scotia|Isle Madame]].<ref>Geraldine Barnes. "Vínland the Good: Paradise Lost?" Parergon 12.2 (1995): 75-96. Project MUSE. Web. 19 Apr. 2013. <http://muse.jhu.edu/>.</ref> |
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According to a 1935 article by [[William Stetson Merrill]] in ''[[The Catholic Historical Review]]'', the opinon held by [[Gustav Storm]] was as follows:<ref>The Vinland Problem through Four Centuries |
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William Stetson Merrill |
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The Catholic Historical Review |
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Vol. 21, No. 1 (Apr., 1935), pp. 21-48 |
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Published by: Catholic University of America Press |
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Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25013345</ref> |
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{{quote|The fjord into which the Northmen steered, when the country became "fjord-indented" (Straumsfiord) may have been one of the fjords in [[Guysborough, Nova Scotia|Gaysborough]], the county of Nova Scotia lying farthest to the north-east, possibly into Canso Bay or some of the bays south of it.}} |
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=== Lobster Bay === |
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[[::sv::Mats G. Larsson|Mats G. Larsson]], a scholar who released a 1992 article on the topic in ''[[Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study|Scandinavian Studies]]''<ref>The Vinland Sagas and Nova Scotia: A Reappraisal of an Old Theory |
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Mats G. Larsson |
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Scandinavian Studies |
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Vol. 64, No. 3 (Summer 1992), pp. 305-335 |
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Published by: Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study |
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Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40919438</ref> as well as the 1999 book ''Vinland det goda'',<ref>Vinland det goda: nordbornas färder till Amerika under vikingatiden |
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MG Larsson - 1999 - Atlantis</ref> summarised his views in the year 2000, on the web page of ''Föreningen Vittfarne''.<ref>http://vittfarne.com/joomla/content/view/168/73/lang,se/</ref> He also considers the Strait of Canso a candidate due to its strong currents, but notes that the currents do not extend to islands. Therefore, he considers Lobster Bay (near the southern tip of Nova Scotia) a better candidate. He notices that [[Samuel de Champlain]] named this bay ''"Baye courante (’Stream Bay’), i.e. the same name as the Norse one"''. Larsson further observes, |
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{{quote|The currents in this bay have a rate of three knots, but the most interesting detail is maybe that there is an island off it called [[Seal Island, Nova Scotia|Seal Island]], where the currents have a rate of four knots. And on this and the adjacent islands both Champlain and [[Nicolas Denys|Denys]] in the first part of the 17th century report such large amounts of sea-fowl that ”no one who had not seen it would believe it possible”.}} |
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=== Bay of Fundy === |
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The Bay of Fundy is claimed to have the highest tides in the world.<ref>http://www.thehighesttides.com/</ref> Julius E. Olson, in a 1911 article in ''Publications of the [[Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study]]'', points out that [[Fridtjof Nansen]], taking a very sceptical stance, was dismissive of the idea of Vinland being located at Nova Scotia, partly because he held that the birdlife there would not match the extreme abundance which the saga describes on ''Straumsey''. Olson points, however, to the Bay of Fundy and the isle of [[Grand Manan]], and quotes [[Samuel de Champlain]]'s observation of birds on islands by the Nova Scotia coast (in ''Original Narratives''): |
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{{quote|At the two other [islands off the coast] there is such an abundance of different sorts of birds that one could not imagine it, if he had not seen them}} |
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In more popular views, according to a Polish article on ''sztab.com''[http://sztab.com], Straumsfjord would be located between the Strait of Belle Isle and Nova Scotia, and suggest the location of [[Chignecto Bay]], [[Bay of Fundy]]. Citations are Else Roesdahl's ''Historia Wikingów'', ''Wielki Atlas Świata XXI w.'' and "internet".<ref>http://www.sztab.com/publicystyka,Wikingowie-W-Ameryce,989,3.html</ref> |
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[[William Henry Babcock]] placed Straumsfjord on the firth leading into [[Passamaquoddy Bay]], referring to the tides around the Bay of Fundy, and also places ''Straumsey'' at Grand Manan Island.<ref>http://www.jstor.org/stable/25013345</ref> |
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Also, as noted above, the connection to the Bay of Fundy was also mentioned in a 2008 article in ''Weather'', but without any conclusions being drawn.<ref>Thomas Hayne, What did the Viking discoverers of America know of the North Atlantic Environment? Weather, Volume 63, Issue 3, pages 60–65, March 2008. DOI: 10.1002/wea.150 Available from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wea.150/abstract</ref> |
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=== Environs of Mount Desert Island === |
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William L. Traxel, in his explorative 2004 book ''Footprints of the Welsh Indians: Settlers in North America Before 1492'' connects ''Straumsey'' to [[Mount Desert Island]] in [[Acadia National Park]], [[Maine]], [[USA]], and consequently Straumsfjord with one of the nearby inlets:<ref>Traxel W.L. Footprints of the Welsh Indians: Settlers in North America Before 1492. 2004</ref> |
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{{quote|Although proof is lacking, from the descriptions given I suspect that Straumsfjord is a fjord in Maine.}} |
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He bases this on an identification of [[Cape Breton Island]] as ''Kjalarnes'' north of Straumsfjord, and on three candidate locations of ''Hóp'' to the south. Traxel refers to a number of archeological findings by [[Frederick J. Pohl]] at [[Follins Pond]],<ref>Frederick J. Pohl, The Vikings on Cape Cod: Evidence from an Archaeological Discovery (Pictou Advocate Press, 1957)</ref> and connects these to the settlement of ''Hóp''. He also reports that [[Robert Ellis Cahill]] found a Norse [[longhouse]] near [[Buzzard's Bay]]<ref>Cahill R.E., New England's Ancient Mysteries, 1993, Old Saltbox Publishing Company, 88 p.</ref> He also holds [[Pettaquamscutt River]], [[Rhode Island]] as a candidate for the location of ''Hóp''. |
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=== Buzzards Bay === |
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According to the 1880 Sephton translation of the saga, [[Carl Christian Rafn]] and other Danish scholars placed ''Kjalarnes'' at [[Cape Cod]], Straumsfjord at [[Buzzards Bay]], [[Massachusetts]] and Straumsey at [[Martha's Vineyard]].<ref>http://www.gutenberg.org/files/17946/17946-h/17946-h.htm</ref> |
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Rafn suggests these views in a comprehensive treatment in the 1840-1841 ''[[::no::Aarbøger for nordisk Oldkyndighed og Historie|Annals for Nordic Ancient Knowledge]]'', observing that the interference of the [[Gulf Stream]] by [[Barnstaple]] would give significant currents in this area. He further identifies Hóp as [[Mount Hope Bay]], [[Rhode Island]], suggesting that the [[Old Norse language|Norse language]] name may have survived through "the Indians' Mont-Haup". He also mentions a nearby Egg Island as a candidate for ''Straumsey''.<ref>ANNALER FOR NORDISK OLDKYNDIGHED. 1840-1841. KONGELIGE NORDISKE OLDSKRIFTSELSKAB. Kjøbenhavn. Pages 15ff. Available through [[Google Books]].</ref> |
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The suggested connection to Buzzard's Bay is reiterated by [[Benjamin Franklin DeCosta]] in ''The Pre-Columbian Discovery of America by the Northmen'' (3rd ed., 1901)<ref>http://archive.org/details/precolumbiandisc00deco</ref> |
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The methodology of the account of Edward F. Gray, author of ''Leif Eriksson: Discoverer of America'' (1930), appears to be particularly favoured in the 1935 review article by [[William Stetson Merrill]].<ref>The Vinland Problem through Four Centuries |
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William Stetson Merrill |
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The Catholic Historical Review |
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Vol. 21, No. 1 (Apr., 1935), pp. 21-48 |
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Published by: Catholic University of America Press |
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Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25013345</ref> Considering all Vinland sagas as a whole, Gray suggested that it was not Karlsefni, but [[Leif Ericson]] who reached Straumsfjord. The currents of Straumsfjord, Gray holds, relates to the currents of [[Nantucket Sound]], and he proceeded past [[Martha's Vineyard]] to build his [[Leifsbudir]] at [[Menemsha, Massachusetts|Menemsha Pond]]. |
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=== Long Island Sound === |
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[[Geoffrey Malcolm Gathorne-Hardy]], in ''The Norse Discoverers of America'' (Oxford, 1921)<ref>http://archive.org/stream/norsediscoverers00gathrich/norsediscoverers00gathrich_djvu.txt</ref> argues that Straumfjörð is identical with [[Long Island Sound]], with Straumsey "at its eastern extremity", i.e. at [[Fisher's Island]]. To put this in context, he held [[Helluland]] to refer to Labrador and Newfoundland, [[Markland]] to refer to [[Nova Scotia]], ''Kjalarnes'' to be at Cape Cod.<ref>http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/digital/collections/cul/texts/ldpd_5800727_004/pages/ldpd_5800727_004_00000040.html</ref><ref>Stokes, I. N. Phelps The iconography of Manhattan Island 1498-1909 (v. 4)(New York : Robert H. Dodd, 1915-1928</ref><ref>http://www.jstor.org/stable/25013345</ref> |
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This contradicted earlier estimates. [[William Paton Ker]], in a 1922 book review published in ''[[The English Historical Review]]'' favoured this view before that of [[Gustav Storm]], who placed Vinland in [[Nova Scotia]].<ref>The Norse Discoverers of America, the Wineland Sagas |
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Review Author: W. P. Ker. The English Historical Review, Vol. 37 (146): 267-269. (April 1922) Oxford University Press.</ref> |
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=== Hudson River === |
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According to a 1963 article in ''Sunnudagsblaðið'',<ref>Sunnudagsblaðið, 8. árgangur 1963, 25. Tölublað - Timarit.is, timarit.is/view_page_init.jsp?pageId=3616240</ref> Charles Michael Boland, the author of the 1961 book ''They All Discovered America'' which suggests widespread [[pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact]],<ref>http://books.google.ca/books/about/They_all_discovered_America.html?id=ruVKAAAAYAAJ</ref><ref>https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/charles-michael-boland/they-all-discovered-america/</ref> held Straumfjord to be [[Hudson River]] and Straumsey to be [[Governors Island]]. |
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A 1965/12/18 article in ''[[Folk og Land]]'' suggests that [[Hudson River]] is Straumfjörð, and that [[Manhattan Island]] is Straumsey.<ref>http://www.sno.no/applications/DocumentLibraryManager/upload/FL/1965_27/1965_27_11.pdf#page=1&zoom=auto,0,657</ref> Reasons provided are that the name seems apt, that there were excellent natural harbours in this area, such as in [[East River]] and [[New York Harbor]], that this location would be a good base for further exploration, that it is a land of plenty, that the winters on Manhattan Island are relatively cold, and that cliffs, described in the saga, can be found by [[Harlem River]]. |
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== References == |
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{{reflist}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Straumfjord}} |
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[[Category:Vinland]] |
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[[Category:Sagas of Icelanders]] |
Revision as of 14:13, 2 June 2013
This article possibly contains original research. (June 2013) |
This article or section possibly contains synthesis of material which does not verifiably mention or relate to the main topic. (June 2013) |
Straumfjörð (Old Norse[1] and Icelandic),[2] sometimes anglisised to Straumsfjordr,[3] Straumfjordr, Straumsfjord or Straumfjord, is according to the Sagas of Icelanders a fjord in Vinland where Þorfinnr "Karlsefni" Þórðarson set up a temporary settlement. It is described in the Saga of Erik the Red, but not in the Greenland saga. Its name translates to "Current-fjord", "Stream-fjord" or "Tide-fjord".[4]
Two somewhat different versions of the travels of Karlsefni appear in the sagas; they are found in the Hauksbók and the Flateyjarbók.[5] They tell that Straumsey (Current-isle) lies at the mouth of Straumfjörð; this is an island with an extreme density of birds.
The whereabouts of Straumfjörð has been, and is, subject to intense speculation.
Location
The exact location of Straumfjörð is disputed. The only Norse settlement which has been recovered in North America beyond Greenland is located on L'Anse aux Meadows.
According to the Saga of Erik the Red the location is significantly south of Markland.
Directions
Based on Septhon's 1880 translation[6] - notice that this is claimed to be a mix between the Hauksbók and Flateyjarbók versions.[7]
Þorfinnr "Karlsefni" Þórðarson, trying to find a country seen by Bjarni Herjólfsson and visited by Leif Ericson, sails from Brattahlíð, Eastern Settlement to Vestribygd (probably the Western Settlement), both in Greenland. From here, they move on to "Bjarneyjar" (Bear Islands, possibly Disko Island[8]). After two half-days or days of sail with northerly wind they arrive at Helluland (Country of Flat Stones). After another two half-days or days of sail with northerly winds, they arrive at Markland (Forest Country).
Off Markland to the South-East is and island that Karlsefni and his company called Bear Island. From Markland, after yet another two half-days or days of sail, they encounter a headland. This headland is possibly identical with Kjalarnes. Keeping the coast on their starboard side, they journey along Furdustrandir ("Wonder-strands"). Then, the coast becomes indented with creeks. They find grapes and wild wheat, and continue until the shore is cut into by a fjord with an island, Straumsey (Current-isle) at its mouth; this is Straumsfjord.
To the south of Straumsfjord is Hóp, where no snow falls during winter, and on the west side of Kjalarnes is a wilderness, and a river which flows from east to west. East of Kjalarnes is the "Irish Ocean". Straumsfjord is estimated by Karlsefni to be equidistant from Hóp and a location north of the river that runs westwards. He also regards Hóp and this location by the river to share the same mountain [or mountain range].
The "two half-days or days" [two doegr, which could refer to 12 or 24 hours], referenced three times in the saga, are important to the question of the whereabouts of Straumsfjord because they suggest the distance travelled when Karlsefni and his men, perhaps, crossed open seas. The two doegr were suggested by Carl Christian Rafn in 1841[9] to be equivalent to about 54 to 60 miil. He bases this on old Icelandic sources such as the Landnámabók. Miil would refer to either [[::nn::sjømil|sjømil]] or to Scandinavian mile. William A. Munn (1929) assumes the two days to correspond to "about 200 miles".[10] Jónas Kristjánsson and colleagues, in a 2012 article, suggest that 170 nautical miles, which is the distance between Greenland and Baffin Island, or an even longer distance, could well be transversed over two doegr, as modern replicas of Norse ships have been reported to make 12 knots and more under favourable conditions.[11] Geoffrey Malcolm Gathorne-Hardy and William Hovgaard estimated a day of 24 hours' sail at about 150 miles.[12]
Saga of Erik the Red
According to the Saga of Erik the Red, Straumfjörð is located beyond the Wonderstrands (Furðustrandir). It describes the area thusly, according to the "fusioned" 1880 translation by J. Sephton:[13]
Now, when they had sailed by Furdustrandir, they put the Scotch people on land, and requested them to run into the southern regions, seek for choice land, and come back after three half-days were passed. (...) Then did they cast anchors from the ships, and lay there to wait for them. And when three days were expired the Scotch people leapt down from the land, and one of them had in his hand a bunch of grapes, and the other an ear of wild wheat.
They said to Karlsefni that they considered they had found good and choice land. Then they received them into their ship, and proceeded on their journey to where the shore was cut into by a firth. They directed the ships within the firth. There was an island lying out in front of the firth, and there were great currents around the island, which they called Straums-ey (Stream-island). There were so many birds [another translation refers to eider-duck rather than birds in general][14] on it that scarcely was it possible to put one's feet down for the eggs. They continued their course up the firth, which they called Straumsfjordr, and carried their cargo ashore from the ships, and there they prepared to stay. They had with them cattle of all kinds, and for themselves they sought out the produce of the land thereabout. There were mountains, and the place was fair to look upon.
They gave no heed to anything except to explore the land, and they found large pastures. They remained there during the winter, which happened to be a hard one, with no work doing; and they were badly off for food, and the fishing failed. Then they went out to the island, hoping that something might be got there from fishing or from what was drifted ashore. In that spot there was little, however, to be got for food, but their cattle found good sustenance.
Later, after giving up settling farther south due to the presence of hostile Skrælings, Karlsefni and his men again reach Straumsfjord when retreating northwards:
Afterwards they came to a headland and a multitude of wild animals; and this headland appeared as if it might be a cake of cow-dung, because the animals passed the winter there. Now they came to Straumsfjordr, where also they had abundance of all kinds.[15]
Hallmarks
If the saga's accounts and the translation are accurate, within Straumsfjord, there are mountains, the place was fair to look upon, with large pastures, a harsh winter, and hunting opportunities. A crag or crags are found within some distance. An unknown species of whale shored; it was inedible. On Straumsey, there are so many birds that it is difficult not to step on eggs, it also has poor fishery, but gave good sustenance for their cattle. Fishery failed, but later recovered.
Currents
A defining feature of Straumsfjord and Straumsey must have been high tides or strong currents. The settlement which was established farther south, Hóp may also have been connected to strong currents or tides, as it has been translated into "tidal pool" or "tidal lake". According to a 2008 article by Thomas Hayne in the journal Weather, this may give some clues as to the whereabouts of the fjord:[16]
It is possible that Straumfjord coincides with the Leifsbudir settlement described in the Greenlander’s Saga, that is, the settlement at L’Anse aux Meadows. But, interestingly, the tidal range along the northern Newfoundland peninsula, near L’Anse aux Meadows, is only around 1m and hardly worthy of special mention in the Sagas. The non-tidal flow through the Strait of Belle Isle, which separates the northern Newfoundland peninsula from Labrador, is also weak (about 6–34cm/s according to Garrett and Petrie (1981), (their Figure 15)). Remarkably large tidal ranges do exist along the Canadian Atlantic coast. In particular, the two greatest tidal ranges in the world are at Ungava Bay and the Bay of Fundy where the ranges often exceed 10m and the associated currents would easily overwhelm a Viking ship. Some uncertainty therefore still exists about the true locations of Hop, Straumsey and Straumfjord.
Climate
Theories on where Straumsfjord and the other places described in the saga were are to a large extent based on the saga's descriptions of flora and fauna. The Northern Atlantic has since the saga was written, however, been through periods of regional climate change and, more recently, global warming. This adds an extra layer of uncertainty to every climate-dependent observation.
Seamanship
Common sense seamanship implies to avoid open and treacherous seas unless they are unavoidable. Moreover, appropriate natural harbours would be required for the ships. This provides possible constraints to the routes taken.
Suggested locations
[[North America hybrid map.png|thumb|right|300px|If no, this is North America. Where did they go?]]
As the coastline of North America is vast and descriptions of the size of the fjord and island are lacking, they can in principle be located at a large number of locations.
The following suggestions for the location of Straumfjörð are gathered from both scholarly and popular literature. They are sorted by increasing distance from the Western Settlement, Greenland: they make increasingly optimistic estimates for the distance travelled by Karlsefni and his company. Evidently, the headland, promontory or cape Kjalarnes is difficult to identify; for seafarers the keel placed there would make its identification obvious, but it is now lost, and Furdustrandir and Straumsfjord lay beyond this point. As will be shown in the following, Kjalarnes is sometimes, but not always, identified as L'Anse aux Meadows, Gaspé Peninsula, Cape North/Cape Breton and Cape Cod. Many, but not all, of the following suggestions can be placed some distance beyond these points, within four coastal regions: Newfoundland; Chaleur Bay; Nova Scotia/Maine; between Cape Cod and New York.
As will become obvious, highly skilled individuals feature prominently among those who have contributed to the suggestions. Please notice that it is impossible to give proper justice to each theory within the scope of this article.
"The author's invention"
Helge Ingstad and Anne Stine Ingstad (the couple who found L'Anse aux Meadows), in The Viking Discovery of America,[17] take a sceptical approach. They argue that,
Altogether Eirik's Saga's description of the ostensible headquarters at Straumsfjord includes a number of salient points which are improbable, and several of these would seem to show that the author made use of the Groenlendinga Saga. This fact adds weight to my previous argumentation showing that Karlsefni's headquarters at Straumsfjord is the author's invention, a substitute for Groenlendinga Saga's Leifsbudir in Vinland.
The similarities are also described by Mats G. Larsson.[18] However, according to a 2012 article in Acta Archeologica, it is "now generally accepted" that the two sagas were written independently.[19]
The famous explorer Fridtjof Nansen, in his I tåkeheimen (In Northern Mists),[20] written before the discovery of L'Anse aux Meadows, conjectures that the Saga of Erik the Red was inspired by tales about the Fortunate Isles and, although admitting that it is indeed possible that the Norse reached America, considers the saga to not be trustworthy. Julius E. Olson of the University of Wisconsin strongly attacked this stance in a 1911 article (see also below), saying "If there isn't a substantial background of history to the Saga of Eric the Red, it is the most clever piece of literary deception over [sic] practiced in the name of history".[21][22]
Ungava Bay
As mentioned in the above, a 2008 article[23] connects the extreme tides of Ungava Bay to the alleged currents or tides at Straumsfjord and Hóp, without drawing any conclusions.
Sandwich Bay
William Hovgaard, a famous expert of naval design and author of The Voyages of the Norsemen to America (1914) takes into account the tales in the Greenland Saga. According to William Stetson Merrill, Hovgaard places Karlsefni's first winter at Sandwich Bay, Labrador. It is not made explicit whether this refers to Straumsfjord.[24]
Strait of Belle Isle
Paul Chapman, author and former navigator, suggests that Straumsey is Belle Isle and that Straumsfjord refers to a settlement on the Strait of Belle Isle.[25]
L'Anse aux Meadows
Birgitta Linderoth Wallace, author of Westward Vikings: The Saga of L'anse Aux Meadows , in the book chapter L’Anse aux Meadows and Vinland: An Abandoned Experiment in the book Contact, Continuity, and Collapse, places the settlement at Straumfjörð at L'Anse aux Meadows.[26]
Sop's Arm
A 2012 article by Jónas Kristjánsson et al. in the scientific journal Acta Archeologica, which assumes that the headland of Kjalarnes referred to in the saga is at L'Anse aux Meadows, suggests that Straumsfjord refers to Sop's Arm, Newfoundland, as no other fjord in Newfoundland was found to have an island at its mouth, and as pitfall traps of possible Norse origin were found at this location.[27]
St. Lawrence
In an 1831 letter sent from Copenhagen to the Massachusetts Historical Society, published in the 1880 Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society,[28] Rasmus Christian Rask gives a thorough account of the sagas and states,
Straumsfjörðr, I fancy, is the Bay of Saint Lawrence
This would refer, it would seem, either to the Gulf of Saint Lawrence or to lower Saint Lawrence River, depending on naming conventions in use at the time. He refuses to propose a theory of the whereabouts of Straumsey, claiming it "impossible", but hopes for future saga translations to illuminate the issue.
[[::dk::Hans Peder Steensby|H. P. Steensby]] held that "The coast lines were guides for the ancient Norsemen and they must also be ours". According to Merrill,[29] Steensby's opinion was that
Streamfjord was the estuary of St. Lawrence River between the mouth of the Saguenay, with its Green Isle opposite, and the narrow waters about the present Isle d'Orleans.
Baie des Sept-Îles
Cappelen's History of Norway (1976) suggests a location at Baie des Sept-Îles, Quebec.[30]
Chaleur Bay
An early 1920s book review by Sigfús Blöndal in Historisk Tidsskrift (Denmark),[31][32] referring to scholarly consensus of the past decades and to the authority of Gustav Storm and H. P. Steensby,[33] places Straumsfjord at Chaleur Bay, which separates Gaspé Peninsula from New Brunswick.
The book reviewed by Blöndal is G. M. Gathorne-Hardy's The Norse Discoverers of America, which comes to another conclusion, see below.
Halldór Hermansson, a Cornell University professor, also placed Straumfjord in Chaleur Bay, "where the tide rises from five to ten feet". Matthias Thordarsson, who authored The Vinland Voyages (1930), agreed with his views.[34]
Mira Bay
Juul Dieserud, the author of Norse Discoveries in America (1901) placed Straumsfjord at Mira Bay, Nova Scotia.[35]
Strait of Canso
Geraldine Barnes, in a 1995 article in the journal Parergon, connects Straumsfjord to the Strait of Canso between Cape Breton Island and mainland Nova Scotia, due to its high tides and the birdlife at nearby Isle Madame.[36]
According to a 1935 article by William Stetson Merrill in The Catholic Historical Review, the opinon held by Gustav Storm was as follows:[37]
The fjord into which the Northmen steered, when the country became "fjord-indented" (Straumsfiord) may have been one of the fjords in Gaysborough, the county of Nova Scotia lying farthest to the north-east, possibly into Canso Bay or some of the bays south of it.
Lobster Bay
[[::sv::Mats G. Larsson|Mats G. Larsson]], a scholar who released a 1992 article on the topic in Scandinavian Studies[38] as well as the 1999 book Vinland det goda,[39] summarised his views in the year 2000, on the web page of Föreningen Vittfarne.[40] He also considers the Strait of Canso a candidate due to its strong currents, but notes that the currents do not extend to islands. Therefore, he considers Lobster Bay (near the southern tip of Nova Scotia) a better candidate. He notices that Samuel de Champlain named this bay "Baye courante (’Stream Bay’), i.e. the same name as the Norse one". Larsson further observes,
The currents in this bay have a rate of three knots, but the most interesting detail is maybe that there is an island off it called Seal Island, where the currents have a rate of four knots. And on this and the adjacent islands both Champlain and Denys in the first part of the 17th century report such large amounts of sea-fowl that ”no one who had not seen it would believe it possible”.
Bay of Fundy
The Bay of Fundy is claimed to have the highest tides in the world.[41] Julius E. Olson, in a 1911 article in Publications of the Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study, points out that Fridtjof Nansen, taking a very sceptical stance, was dismissive of the idea of Vinland being located at Nova Scotia, partly because he held that the birdlife there would not match the extreme abundance which the saga describes on Straumsey. Olson points, however, to the Bay of Fundy and the isle of Grand Manan, and quotes Samuel de Champlain's observation of birds on islands by the Nova Scotia coast (in Original Narratives):
At the two other [islands off the coast] there is such an abundance of different sorts of birds that one could not imagine it, if he had not seen them
In more popular views, according to a Polish article on sztab.com[1], Straumsfjord would be located between the Strait of Belle Isle and Nova Scotia, and suggest the location of Chignecto Bay, Bay of Fundy. Citations are Else Roesdahl's Historia Wikingów, Wielki Atlas Świata XXI w. and "internet".[42]
William Henry Babcock placed Straumsfjord on the firth leading into Passamaquoddy Bay, referring to the tides around the Bay of Fundy, and also places Straumsey at Grand Manan Island.[43]
Also, as noted above, the connection to the Bay of Fundy was also mentioned in a 2008 article in Weather, but without any conclusions being drawn.[44]
Environs of Mount Desert Island
William L. Traxel, in his explorative 2004 book Footprints of the Welsh Indians: Settlers in North America Before 1492 connects Straumsey to Mount Desert Island in Acadia National Park, Maine, USA, and consequently Straumsfjord with one of the nearby inlets:[45]
Although proof is lacking, from the descriptions given I suspect that Straumsfjord is a fjord in Maine.
He bases this on an identification of Cape Breton Island as Kjalarnes north of Straumsfjord, and on three candidate locations of Hóp to the south. Traxel refers to a number of archeological findings by Frederick J. Pohl at Follins Pond,[46] and connects these to the settlement of Hóp. He also reports that Robert Ellis Cahill found a Norse longhouse near Buzzard's Bay[47] He also holds Pettaquamscutt River, Rhode Island as a candidate for the location of Hóp.
Buzzards Bay
According to the 1880 Sephton translation of the saga, Carl Christian Rafn and other Danish scholars placed Kjalarnes at Cape Cod, Straumsfjord at Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts and Straumsey at Martha's Vineyard.[48]
Rafn suggests these views in a comprehensive treatment in the 1840-1841 [[::no::Aarbøger for nordisk Oldkyndighed og Historie|Annals for Nordic Ancient Knowledge]], observing that the interference of the Gulf Stream by Barnstaple would give significant currents in this area. He further identifies Hóp as Mount Hope Bay, Rhode Island, suggesting that the Norse language name may have survived through "the Indians' Mont-Haup". He also mentions a nearby Egg Island as a candidate for Straumsey.[49]
The suggested connection to Buzzard's Bay is reiterated by Benjamin Franklin DeCosta in The Pre-Columbian Discovery of America by the Northmen (3rd ed., 1901)[50]
The methodology of the account of Edward F. Gray, author of Leif Eriksson: Discoverer of America (1930), appears to be particularly favoured in the 1935 review article by William Stetson Merrill.[51] Considering all Vinland sagas as a whole, Gray suggested that it was not Karlsefni, but Leif Ericson who reached Straumsfjord. The currents of Straumsfjord, Gray holds, relates to the currents of Nantucket Sound, and he proceeded past Martha's Vineyard to build his Leifsbudir at Menemsha Pond.
Long Island Sound
Geoffrey Malcolm Gathorne-Hardy, in The Norse Discoverers of America (Oxford, 1921)[52] argues that Straumfjörð is identical with Long Island Sound, with Straumsey "at its eastern extremity", i.e. at Fisher's Island. To put this in context, he held Helluland to refer to Labrador and Newfoundland, Markland to refer to Nova Scotia, Kjalarnes to be at Cape Cod.[53][54][55]
This contradicted earlier estimates. William Paton Ker, in a 1922 book review published in The English Historical Review favoured this view before that of Gustav Storm, who placed Vinland in Nova Scotia.[56]
Hudson River
According to a 1963 article in Sunnudagsblaðið,[57] Charles Michael Boland, the author of the 1961 book They All Discovered America which suggests widespread pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact,[58][59] held Straumfjord to be Hudson River and Straumsey to be Governors Island.
A 1965/12/18 article in Folk og Land suggests that Hudson River is Straumfjörð, and that Manhattan Island is Straumsey.[60] Reasons provided are that the name seems apt, that there were excellent natural harbours in this area, such as in East River and New York Harbor, that this location would be a good base for further exploration, that it is a land of plenty, that the winters on Manhattan Island are relatively cold, and that cliffs, described in the saga, can be found by Harlem River.
References
- ^ http://www.heimskringla.no/wiki/Eir%C3%ADks_saga_rau%C3%B0a
- ^ http://www.snerpa.is/net/isl/eirik.htm
- ^ http://sagadb.org/eiriks_saga_rauda.en
- ^ http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/straumr#Old_Norse
- ^ The Vinland Problem through Four Centuries William Stetson Merrill The Catholic Historical Review Vol. 21, No. 1 (Apr., 1935), pp. 21-48 Published by: Catholic University of America Press Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25013345
- ^ http://www.gutenberg.org/files/17946/17946-h/17946-h.htm#chap_4
- ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saga_of_Erik_the_Red
- ^ http://diskobayarcticstation.wordpress.com/2012/01/27/the-old-viking-name-of-disko-island-is-indeed-bear-island-bjorn-oya/
- ^ ANNALER FOR NORDISK OLDKYNDIGHED. 1840-1841. KONGELIGE NORDISKE OLDSKRIFTSELSKAB. Kjøbenhavn. Pages 15ff. Available through Google Books.
- ^ W. A. Munn, "Wineland Voyages: Location of Helluland, Markland & Vinland" (St John's, NL: Dicks and Company Limited, June 31, 1992), 13.
- ^ Acta Archaeologica vol. 83, 2012, pp 145-177
- ^ http://www.jstor.org/stable/25013345
- ^ http://sagadb.org/eiriks_saga_rauda.en
- ^ http://www.archive.org/stream/voyagestovinland013593mbp/voyagestovinland013593mbp_djvu.txt
- ^ http://sagadb.org/eiriks_saga_rauda.en
- ^ Thomas Hayne, What did the Viking discoverers of America know of the North Atlantic Environment? Weather, Volume 63, Issue 3, pages 60–65, March 2008. DOI: 10.1002/wea.150 Available from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wea.150/abstract
- ^ 1991/2000, Breakwater Books Ltd.
- ^ http://vittfarne.com/joomla/content/view/168/73/lang,se/
- ^ Acta Archaeologica, Volume 83, Issue 1, pages 148–153, December 2012. DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0390.2012.00627.x
- ^ http://www.archive.org/stream/innorthernmistsa01nansuoft/innorthernmistsa01nansuoft_djvu.txt
- ^ Julius E. Olson Publications of the Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study , Vol. 1, No. 4 (November, 1913), pp. 147-156 Published by: Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40914910
- ^ The Vinland Problem through Four Centuries William Stetson Merrill The Catholic Historical Review Vol. 21, No. 1 (Apr., 1935), pp. 21-48 Published by: Catholic University of America Press Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25013345
- ^ Thomas Hayne, What did the Viking discoverers of America know of the North Atlantic Environment? Weather, Volume 63, Issue 3, pages 60–65, March 2008. DOI: 10.1002/wea.150 Available from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wea.150/abstract
- ^ http://www.jstor.org/stable/25013345
- ^ http://www.ensignmessage.com/archives/vikings.html
- ^ Wallace, B. L., L’Anse aux Meadows and Vinland: An Abandoned Experiment. In: L’Anse aux Meadows and Vinland: An Abandoned Experiment. James H. Barrett (ed.) Turnhout Brepols Publishers. 2003. ISBN 978-2-503-51291-4 (Print) 978-2-503-52641-6 (Online) Pages 207-238 DOI 10.1484/M.SEM-EB.3.3837
- ^ Jónas Kristjánsson et al. (2012) Falling into Vínland. Acta Archeologica 83, pp. 145-177
- ^ http://www.jstor.org/stable/25079562
- ^ William Stetson Merrill The Catholic Historical Review Vol. 21, No. 1 (Apr., 1935), pp. 21-48 Published by: Catholic University of America Press Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25013345
- ^ Cappelens Norgeshistorie bd. 2, s. 141. 1976.
- ^ Historisk Tidsskrift, Bind 9. række, 7 (1919 - 1925) 1
- ^ http://www.tidsskrift.dk/index.php/historisktidsskrift/article/view/36311/69822
- ^ H. P. Steensby's "Norsemen's Route from Greenland to Wineland"
- ^ http://www.jstor.org/stable/25013345
- ^ The Vinland Problem through Four Centuries William Stetson Merrill The Catholic Historical Review Vol. 21, No. 1 (Apr., 1935), pp. 21-48 Published by: Catholic University of America Press Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25013345
- ^ Geraldine Barnes. "Vínland the Good: Paradise Lost?" Parergon 12.2 (1995): 75-96. Project MUSE. Web. 19 Apr. 2013. <http://muse.jhu.edu/>.
- ^ The Vinland Problem through Four Centuries William Stetson Merrill The Catholic Historical Review Vol. 21, No. 1 (Apr., 1935), pp. 21-48 Published by: Catholic University of America Press Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25013345
- ^ The Vinland Sagas and Nova Scotia: A Reappraisal of an Old Theory Mats G. Larsson Scandinavian Studies Vol. 64, No. 3 (Summer 1992), pp. 305-335 Published by: Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40919438
- ^ Vinland det goda: nordbornas färder till Amerika under vikingatiden MG Larsson - 1999 - Atlantis
- ^ http://vittfarne.com/joomla/content/view/168/73/lang,se/
- ^ http://www.thehighesttides.com/
- ^ http://www.sztab.com/publicystyka,Wikingowie-W-Ameryce,989,3.html
- ^ http://www.jstor.org/stable/25013345
- ^ Thomas Hayne, What did the Viking discoverers of America know of the North Atlantic Environment? Weather, Volume 63, Issue 3, pages 60–65, March 2008. DOI: 10.1002/wea.150 Available from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wea.150/abstract
- ^ Traxel W.L. Footprints of the Welsh Indians: Settlers in North America Before 1492. 2004
- ^ Frederick J. Pohl, The Vikings on Cape Cod: Evidence from an Archaeological Discovery (Pictou Advocate Press, 1957)
- ^ Cahill R.E., New England's Ancient Mysteries, 1993, Old Saltbox Publishing Company, 88 p.
- ^ http://www.gutenberg.org/files/17946/17946-h/17946-h.htm
- ^ ANNALER FOR NORDISK OLDKYNDIGHED. 1840-1841. KONGELIGE NORDISKE OLDSKRIFTSELSKAB. Kjøbenhavn. Pages 15ff. Available through Google Books.
- ^ http://archive.org/details/precolumbiandisc00deco
- ^ The Vinland Problem through Four Centuries William Stetson Merrill The Catholic Historical Review Vol. 21, No. 1 (Apr., 1935), pp. 21-48 Published by: Catholic University of America Press Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25013345
- ^ http://archive.org/stream/norsediscoverers00gathrich/norsediscoverers00gathrich_djvu.txt
- ^ http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/digital/collections/cul/texts/ldpd_5800727_004/pages/ldpd_5800727_004_00000040.html
- ^ Stokes, I. N. Phelps The iconography of Manhattan Island 1498-1909 (v. 4)(New York : Robert H. Dodd, 1915-1928
- ^ http://www.jstor.org/stable/25013345
- ^ The Norse Discoverers of America, the Wineland Sagas Review Author: W. P. Ker. The English Historical Review, Vol. 37 (146): 267-269. (April 1922) Oxford University Press.
- ^ Sunnudagsblaðið, 8. árgangur 1963, 25. Tölublað - Timarit.is, timarit.is/view_page_init.jsp?pageId=3616240
- ^ http://books.google.ca/books/about/They_all_discovered_America.html?id=ruVKAAAAYAAJ
- ^ https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/charles-michael-boland/they-all-discovered-america/
- ^ http://www.sno.no/applications/DocumentLibraryManager/upload/FL/1965_27/1965_27_11.pdf#page=1&zoom=auto,0,657